Humanity is on the brink of returning to the moon – with the intention to stay. This time with commercial actors alongside national space agencies, which makes it necessary to use locally available resources, such as lunar regolith (“moon dust”). It is 10 times finer than a grain of sand, extremely abrasive, electrostatically charged and floats for an exceptionally long time, making it difficult to handle.

A team of students from RWTH Aachen University offers a unique approach to this problem: the RegONE transport system. The students developed this transport system with the vision of reliably transporting regolith in a variety of lunar terrains and conditions. RegONE is vibration-based, modular and has no moving parts to minimise long-term wear and tear.

The goal of the team is to develop a TRL-6 prototype of regONE to prove its feasibility for operation on the Moon. This will require further research into interactions with the lunar soil and the design of a support structure that can be attached to the lunar surface.

Benefits:

• Optimises the entire lunar value chain: higher efficiency, higher safety, lower operating costs (e.g. insurance and planning costs)
• Enables the construction of a lunar outpost
• Facilitates further technological development with regard to In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) and the handling of hazardous materials

Satellites generate huge amounts of data every day, and traditional methods of data analysis are struggling to keep up. By compressing and deploying AI models on satellites, data processing could be performed on board. This would drastically reduce the latency associated with downloading and analysing images at ground stations. To overcome this challenge, NinjaLABO introduces a new technology: TinyML as-a-Service (TinyMLaaS). TinyMLaaS integrates state-of-the-art edge AI solutions into satellite systems to process data directly on board, reducing the latency of communication back to the ground station and improving real-time decision making.

Until now, satellite manufacturers have mostly opted to develop the systems for such edge AI solutions themselves. However, this approach often results in unnecessarily slow development processes. NinjaLABO specialises in the core components of Edge AI frameworks, enabling satellite manufacturers to focus on improving their business value to customers, significantly reduce R&D costs and achieve faster time-to-market.

Benefits:

• Real-time performance: local execution of inference without cloud computing delays for immediate data analysis
• Low power consumption: optimised for low-power devices such as microcontrollers, ideal for battery-powered or low-power systems
• Improved privacy: sensitive information is not sent to centralised servers
• Improved cost efficiency: minimises the need for expensive, power-hungry hardware for lower operating costs
• Expanded applications: enables intelligent functions in devices that were previously unsuitable due to size, cost or power constraints

The reliability of satellite components is critical: one third of small satellites fail prematurely, resulting in significant economic losses and increased space debris.

SPHERICAL introduces a breakthrough approach to satellite power systems. It is based on a proprietary agile semiconductor engine, software tool and supply chain. The company’s approach significantly improves the reliability and performance of Power Control and Distribution Units (PCDUs) by designing microchips specifically for satellite applications in-house and manufacturing them in Europe. As the company expands, it aims to cover a wider range of satellite subsystems and eventually offer a complete avionics module for medium satellites.

As well as revolutionising satellite subsystem technology, SPHERICAL aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on non-European sources of semiconductors, thereby strengthening its strategic autonomy in the aerospace sector. The company’s technology is capable of setting new industry standards for in-space power systems, improving the longevity, robustness and economics of satellite missions.

Benefits:

• A PCDU subsystem that is 5x smaller, more affordable and better suited for mass-production compared to conventional power systems, with the added benefit of being software configurable and radiation tolerant for different orbital environments (LEO, MEO, GEO).
• The advanced PCDU promises shorter integration times for satellite systems – days instead of months – and reduces one-off development costs by over €200,000.
• The innovative design allows for rapid configuration changes and system updates via software – a capability not currently available in the market.
• SPHERICAL is at the forefront of strengthening European sovereignty in space while addressing the global challenge of microchip dependency.